Thomas Merton wrote (“Life And Holiness”) that the spiritual life is not a life of quiet withdrawal, a hothouse growth of artificial ascetic practices beyond the reach of people living ordinary lives. It lives in the ordinary duties and labors of life that the seeker can and should develop in his or her spiritual union with their own personal notions of God. My search for a spiritual life began in earnest when I bought a cabin in upstate New York more than a decade ago and wrote “Running To The Mountain.” It was a wonderful experience for me, but my idea of a spiritual life then was, in fact, one of withdrawal, retreat, removal from my ordinary life and its burdens and obligations.
As Merton suggests, I have evolved and will hopefully continue to evolve. Increasingly, I see spirituality not in the life of hermit or the monk, not in withdrawal but in the ways in which I handle the ordinary details of my life. The ways in which I come to terms with money, the patience and perspective I see in the many interactions ordinary lives require. The ways in which I avoid seeing my life in terms of struggle or victimization. The ways in which I learn to hear and listen, to be open and share, to support and be supported. When I call customer service, or look at my bills, I close my eyes and remember that this is just as spiritual an encounter as praying on my knees on a hillside. I seek as well the healing arts, the ancient practices – shamanic healing, massage, the healing power of tea, meditation, coming to terms with the broken pieces of my heart and soul.
I am not sure what God is, for me, it is a feeling, a place I want to be, a sense of peace and love and acceptance. But I see what Merton means. I am learning that. You don’t need to run to a mountain to seek a spiritual life, it lives in the ordinary duties and labors of life, in our own continuing spiritual union with the place we each call God.
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I want to say that the installation of my Contributions Button is a spiritual revelation for me. A way of being valued, a way of being compensated for things I am offering for free. In these $2, $4, $5, $100 messages there is, for me, a spiritual union, a connection, a conversation. Each one lifts my heart and heals me. I am not asking for help, I am not sounding an alarm. I am taking another step towards authenticity, finding at least a way to let people compensate me for my photographs and work if they can and wish. Merton wrote scores of books in his life, and he said each time a person paid for his work it was a prayer for him and his life.